There always seems to be something to worry about as a parent. Keeping your children safe and healthy is a top priority, but today’s parents also have to deal with something previous generations didn’t the internet. Today, children use desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones on a daily basis.
How can I protect my child on the internet is a popular search term on Google. The internet is a great thing, but it also can present a real danger to young children in terms of the content and people they can be exposed to.
If you’re not an expert in IT, it can feel a bit overwhelming when it comes to internet security.
How do I protect my child on the internet?
Internet safety is about putting some basic measures in place to control the access your children have to the internet and teaching them about the potential dangers online.
As your child gets older and perhaps has their own smartphone, then this adds another level of potential safety concern to consider.
Limit screen time
Too much screentime has been associated with difficulty sleeping, attention problems, and even anxiety. It can also lead to a sedentary lifestyle which can lead to weight issues and health problems. If you feel that your child is spending too much time online, even looking at safe content, then encouraging physical activity is a good way to offset this and will benefit their overall health for the rest of their life.
Set your own guidelines in your household about when your children can use the internet and for how long and make sure that you adhere to them as much as you are able to.
Keep devices open
It’s important that any devices bought specifically for your children to use, should be kept open and not be able to be locked by them to prevent you from accessing them. By doing this, you will be able to see what they are accessing and when. You’ll also be able to see if they are installing anything.
Of course, internet-enabled devices can hold sensitive information, so you still want them protected in case they are lost or stolen, but you can still ensure that even though your child has the access code, only you have the permission to make any changes.
Use parental controls
Most internet-enabled devices and the apps on them have parental control features. This ensures that only suitable content is available for them to see. These kinds of controls can be found on things like Google, YouTube, and any streaming apps you might use to watch movies or TV shows. Enabling these controls can give you an extra level of protection against distressing and inappropriate content.
Use a parental monitoring app
Various parental controls on apps are all great, but they don’t give you an across-the-board view of your child’s online activity on their phone, or the ability to control it remotely. That’s why Family Orbit was designed, to give comprehensive safety control for your children. From a central dashboard, you can monitor your child’s activities, locate them in real-time, be alerted to inappropriate activity, and view text, browsing, and call history.
It’s smart too. The platform can even scan images for content relating to sex, violence, or gore.
The controls can be set as tightly as you need them to be. As your children grow up, you can alter the sensitivity of these settings accordingly.
Communicate with them
Keeping your children safe online isn’t only about laying down a set of arbitrary guidelines for them to follow, without explanation. As they get older, they are going to need to be made aware of the potential dangers of the internet and how to use it safely. Types of topics to talk about include why they shouldn’t have too much screen time, cyberbullying, communicating with people they don’t know, and using social media.
Having these conversations early can help prepare your children for when they get more freedom online. You want to create an environment in which they feel they can talk to you about any concerns or issues that they might be having online.
Conclusion
So if you’re wondering ‘how can I protect my child on the internet?’, then you aren’t alone. All parents share their concerns. While you might feel that you aren’t technical or knowledgeable to stay up-to-date with everything, there are tools out there that can help you take control and keep them safe when they are online.
